change your thoughts

Change your thoughts and you change your world. - Norman Vincent Peale



Yesterday I had the great pleasure of watching a dear friend of mine perform in a play. It’s always a wonderful feeling to watch her act and tap into that part of herself that is so rich with talent. I always get filled up watching her. Yesterday’s play was so real with emotion and raw with truth that it actually stung. It made me feel so uncomfortable at times. I cried and I fidgeted and in the end I sat still. All I wanted was for my friend to know how much I cared about her.
The play was about appearances and the different sides of the same struggle. It didn’t have a happy ending. That was difficult for me and makes me realize how hard it is to stand in sadness. I need a happy ending. I need to know that everything is ok, that everything can get better. I want so desperately to have everything wrapped in a pretty bow, complete with all its parts.

Being in discomfort is hard for all of us. But in these moments there are powerful messages if we choose to explore them. What are you thinking about yourself when you are feeling uncomfortable? Something is being triggered inside you that you don’t like and you want it to go away.

Thoughts are powerful. So powerful that they dictate our lives and create our very existence. We are that powerful that we can actually change our world by changing our thoughts. The character in the play was so desperately trying to be seen as someone other than her weight. But all she thought about was her weight. It's the same to fight for or fight against, either way we are fighting. If we see something as bad or wrong and try to over-compensate we are still left with the same results. We can't solve a problem by staring at the problem. (more on this on another day)

We are hardest on ourselves. We criticize and judge our own lives based on what we see outside of us. We compare where we are and what we have to others. It’s such a natural thing that we think this is how life is supposed to be. If we could only see that we are all struggling with something. So isn’t it silly that we are comparing ourselves to another struggle. No one knows you better than you do. There is something really amazing in the possibility in embracing your own struggle and owning it. You have everything you need. You have all the right parts. You are the answer to your question. You have the capacity to love, to give, to grow and shine. So think about that. Think about your amazing gifts and talents that are beneath your own self doubt. Let go of getting it right. Roll up your sleeves and get dirty. Don’t be afraid to live. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes because you will. And in the mistakes you understand more of what you don’t want. This isn’t new stuff. But it’s being directed to you. You chose to read this today. So what are you going to choose to think about? Go ahead create the life you always wanted….I dare you. We are on this journey together. Let’s create great things.
Today I am grateful for my soundtrack. In the music I find my flexibility and vulnerability. It’s awesome to feel inspired.